Furnace structure



A g- 16, 1932- R. E. WILSON FURNACE STRUCTURE Filed March 28. 1930 lnvnifrr Robert Wilsony mwl Baum Fuel Patented Aug. 16, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ROBERT E. WILSON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO STANDARD OIL COMPANY (INDIANA), OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF INDIANA FURNACE STRUCTURE Application filed March 28, 1930. Serial No. 439,631..

This invention relates to furnace structure and it pertains more particularly to upshot radiant furnaces wherein tubes are spaced around the inner periphery of a furnace and are heated by a central flame from a burner mounted in the furnace base. The products of combustion travel upward through the radiant chamber and are then passed through an economizer section. and/or an air preheater. The heat transfer to the tubes is effected by radiation which insures a uniform high rateof heat transfer to each tube under all firing conditions and avoids all tendency to overheat any one tube since all tubes are equally spaced at a safe distance from the flame and perform substantially the same duty. However, in the ordinary design the lower portion of each tube picks up sub stantially more heat than the upper portion thereof.

The object of this invention is to provide a furnace of this type which will increase the heat input to the upper portion of the tubes so that it substantially equals that to the lower portion, thus increasing the capacity and efficiency of the furnace. A further object is to protect economizers and/or air preheaters which are mounted directly above the furnace from the intense heat radiated from the furnace and from insufliciently cooled gases of combustion.

A further object is to provide a furnace of this type wherein the maximum amount of available heat is utilized by the tubes in the furnace, leaving a minimum amount to be absorbed by economizers and preheaters. Other objects will be apparent as the: detailed description of my invention proceeds. The invention relates to the provision of a baflle to reflect and/or radiate heat toward the upper part of' the tubes in the radiant chamber of the furnace, to direct hot gases against the upper portion of said tubes, and to protect the economizer and/or air preheater against direct exposure'to radiated furnace heat or direct contact with noncooled combustion "gases.

My invention will be more clearly understood from the description of a preferred embodiment which is illustrated in the accompanying' drawing wherein similar parts are designated by like reference characters throughout the several views and wherein:

Figure 1 is a vertical section through my improved furnace;

Figure 2 is a partial section through another modification thereof;

' Figure 3 is a view of the modified baflle as seen from line 33 of Figure 2; and

. Figure 4 is a horizontal section taken along thelines 44 of Figure 1.

My improved furnace consists of a radiant chamber which may be an upright cylindrical still 10'having a flat top 11. The top is provided with a central aperture over which is mounted the economizcr and preheatcr section 12. This section in turn supports the stack 13. Both the radiant chamber and the cconomizer and prehcater chamber are lined with fire brick or other suitable refractory material 14. The bottom 15 of the furnace has a substantially flat periphery andv a depressed central. portion through which e):- tends the burner as will be hereinafter described.

All around the periphery of the'radiant chamber of my furnace I provide vertical pipes 16 extending through the top and'bottom walls of the furnace, and immediately inside these pipes I provide an inner circle of pipes 17, the ends ofwhich also extend through the top and bottom walls. The ends of these pipes are-connectcd by suitable return joints 16a and 17a so that liquid enters anouter pipe, flows through all of the other pipes in series, then flows through all of the inner pipes in series, and is fin ally discharged therefrom. In the drawing I have only shown four pipes, two on each side, in order to avoid a confusion of lines. It is to be understood, however, that these pipes are arranged at short intervals all around the circumference of theradiant chamber. Arrangement and flow may be varied without affecting. the, spirit of my invention. a

Air to support combustion enters inlet 18, is heated in preheater 19 and passed around batlies 20 therein, and is then conducted by pipe 21 to the burner 22 in the bottom of through'preheater oreconomizer 26 which isusually a plurality of pipes adapted to be in the radiant chamber.

connected in series or in parallel. The 'oil leaves the preheater by pipe 27 which introduces it into the series of outer pipes 16 It passes through each of these pipes in series, and then through each of the inner pipes and finally leaves the furnace through pipe 28.

It will be observed that the radiantheat froniflame 24 will be greater in the lower portion of the radiant chamber than in the upper portion thereof, thatthere will be a tendency for the hottest gases to travel through the center of the chamber and-impinge upon the preheaters without delivering up a sufficient amount of their heat inthe radiant chamber. This causesthe upper partsof tubes 16 and 17 to be relatively ineffective and it may cause oierheating or burning of preheater tubes.

To avoid these difliculties I provide a baffie 29 'which'may consist ofa polished metal facing 30 backed by refractory material 31 and supported by chains, links or rods 32.

The polished metal and supports must necesheater zone.

In the modification shown in Figure 2 I h ave employed a plurality of horizontal plates ofdiminishing diameten I provide acentral support 33 on which are mounted a plurality of plates 34, 35, 36 and. 37 of diminishing diameter. This type of baflle is more effective in preventing the radiation of heat from the radiant chamber to the preheater section, and it is also eifective in directing gases toward the upper portion of tubes 16 and 17.

' -I contemplate the use of various other tails hereinabove set forth except as defined by the following claims. 1 I claim:

1. In furnace structure, a radiant chamber, a plurality of vertical tubes mounted around the periphery of said chamber, a preheater section above said chamber, a burner mounted in the base of said radiant chamber and below said preheater section, and a bafiie inter posed between said burner and said preheater section to protect the preheater section from radiated hot gases and to direct heat .toward the upper ends of said tubes.

2. In afurnace structure, a vertical combustion chamber having a side wall and top and bottom walls, an economizer section above said chamber, means for passing gaseous products of combustion from said chamber through said economizer, means for passing a fluid through said economizer in indirect heat exchange relation to said gaseous combustion products, means for1ntroduc1ng a combustible fuel and air into said chamber whereby said fuel burns therein and liberates heat to the side wall'thereof, vertical tubes in said chamber spaced at intervals around said side walls and extending through said top and bottom walls, a battle in said chamber under said econmizer, said baffle having exposed surfaces for reflecting heat and deflecting hot gases against the upper parts of said tube whereby said tubes absorb heat from gaseous combustion products leaving the furnace so that said products'will not burn said means for passing said fluid through said economizer section.

3. In a furnace structure, a vertical combustion chamber having a s1de wall and top and bottom walls, said top wall having a central aperture therein, a preheater section above said aperture whereby hot combustion gases from said chamber pass through said preheater section, a heat exchange conduit in said preheater section, means for conveying a combustible fuel and air into said chamber whereby said fuel burns therein and radiates heat to said side wall thereof, vertical tubes in said chamber spaced at intervals around the side wall and extending through said top and bottom walls, means for connecting'said heat exchange conduit with one of said tubes, means for connecting each of said tubes with an adjacent tube whereby fluid may be passed through said tubes in series, and a bafiie in said chamber underneath said preheater for reflecting heat and deflecting hot gaseous combustion products against the upper part of the tubes in said chamber whereby heat is absorbed by said' tubes from said combustion products so that the hot combustion products will not burn the heat exchange conduit in said preheater.

Signed this 24th day of March, 1930, at Chicago, county of Cook, State of Illinois. ROBERT E. WILSON.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION.

" August l6, 1932.

Patent No. 1,871,937.

' ROBERT WILSON.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 2, line 77, claim 1, for the words "hot gases" read heat. and for "heat" read hot gases; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the. case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 22nd day of November, -A. D. 1932.

M. J. Moore,

(Seal) Q Acting Commissioner of Patents. I 

